Burkle at Center of Latest Clinton, Obama Feud

Updated

When the Clinton campaign released details of Hillary and Bill's financial holdings on Thursday, the Obama campaign combed through the records and came up with a little bit of opposition research.

Unfortunately for them, the oppo, as it is known, ended up in the hands of the Clinton campaign. They quickly informed journalists that the Obama camp was behind the release, even if they are preaching a "new kind of politics." Apparently they didn't care how unflattering the oppo was, just that the Obama camp was releasing it.

Whatever the case, Obama's team apparently zeroed in on Clinton's ties to Ron Burkle, one of her top fund-raisers and a man who helped draw some $2.6 million in contributions from a single event at his Beverly Hills home in March. Here's the NYT link on the opposition research, much of it a rehash about past news reports. Outside of lobbying and government contracts, there's quite an obsession with Playboy and Penthouse.

But Obama has his own ties to Burkle. In October, 2004, the latter gave Obama $2,000 for his Senate campaign, according to Federal Election Commission records.